Defendant killed his wife but didn't plan to, his lawyer tells jury

Elton Taylor's lawyers said he killed his estranged wife, Watisha Wallace in October 2013, but the shooting wasn't planned. After the jury convicted Taylor of first-degree murder, prosecutors will seek the death penalty.

Elton Taylor's lawyers said he killed his estranged wife, Watisha Wallace in October 2013, but the shooting wasn't planned. After the jury convicted Taylor of first-degree murder, prosecutors will seek the death penalty.

Prosecutors say Taylor showed up at Wallace’s parents’ West Palm Beach home with two guns to carry out his desire to end her life. They will seek the death penalty if the jury agrees and convicts Taylor, 39, as charged.

Relatives of both families filled Circuit Judge Laura Johnson’s courtroom as the trial began with the story of how Taylor, a truck driver, met Wallace, a Palm Tran Connection bus driver, in 2010.

Marc Freeman / Staff

Assistant State Attorney Chrichet Mixon gives her opening statement in the murder trial of Elton Taylor, 39, on Thursday, March 1, 2018. Taylor is charged in the 2013 killing of his wife, Watisha Wallace, 41, in West Palm Beach. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Assistant State Attorney Chrichet Mixon gives her opening statement in the murder trial of Elton Taylor, 39, on Thursday, March 1, 2018. Taylor is charged in the 2013 killing of his wife, Watisha Wallace, 41, in West Palm Beach. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. (Marc Freeman / Staff)

They began a relationship and the next year, his three children and her two daughters moved into a home in Palm Springs with them.

But by the fall of 2013, Wallace and her kids moved out and she sought a divorce. She began sleeping in a bedroom on the second-floor of her parents’ house in the 1000 block of 36th Street.

Wallace, 41, also went to a judge and obtained a restraining order against Taylor, according to court records and testimony from her father, Herman Wallace.

Marc Freeman / Staff

Assistant Public Defender Christine Geraghty gives her opening statement in the murder trial of Elton Taylor, 39, on Thursday, March 1, 2018. Taylor is charged in the 2013 killing of his wife, Watisha Wallace, 41, in West Palm Beach. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Assistant Public Defender Christine Geraghty gives her opening statement in the murder trial of Elton Taylor, 39, on Thursday, March 1, 2018. Taylor is charged in the 2013 killing of his wife, Watisha Wallace, 41, in West Palm Beach. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. (Marc Freeman / Staff)

Late on the night of Oct. 21, Taylor showed up at the home demanding to see his wife, said Assistant State Attorney Chrichet Mixon.

He forced his way upstairs, found Watisha Wallace and took her at gunpoint outside to a back patio and shot her multiple times, as her terrified loved ones heard the fatal rounds, the prosecutor said.

Taylor’s attorney said there is no dispute he pulled the trigger.

“There is not a question Watisha Wallace died because she was shot by Elton Taylor,” Geraghty said.

Marc Freeman / Sun Sentinel

Elton Taylor, 39, center, sits with his attorneys during the prosecutorâ€™s opening statement in his murder trial on Thursday, March 1, 2018. Taylor is charged in the 2013 killing of his wife, Watisha Wallace, 41, in West Palm Beach. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Elton Taylor, 39, center, sits with his attorneys during the prosecutorâ€™s opening statement in his murder trial on Thursday, March 1, 2018. Taylor is charged in the 2013 killing of his wife, Watisha Wallace, 41, in West Palm Beach. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. (Marc Freeman / Sun Sentinel)

After the killing, Taylor turned a gun on himself and fired a shot in the back of his head and was unconscious when police and an ambulance arrived.

Thanks to life-saving measures, he survived and recovered, his attorney said.